We’re supposed to have viewed Stephen Colbert’s “Dr. Pepper Interview†with Lucas Conley, author of Obsessive Branding Disorder, as a hilarious detournement on the subject of Conley’s book, our nation’s ever-increasing need for brand mentions. But all I got out of the interview—yes, difficult to parse through all the hilarious jokes about brands, ha ha—was that Conley thinks companies should cease striving for lifestyle status and stick with branding only what they are also good at producing. And he gave several examples—by brand name, even without Colbert’s prompting—to back up his theory.
How is a call for proper branding actually going to change the supposed illness from which our nation suffers? If anyone can tell me, great, cause I have no interest in reading the book to find out.
One Comment
Rarely does TV confuse me as much as that interview did. I could make no sense of his thesis at all. But I remember the Dr. Pepper. What that the point?